Rudy Gay won a lot of fans over when he first went to Toronto, but since then he has burned through a lot of that capital he built up. Gay is scoring 19.8 points a game but is shooting just 39 percent overall and 23.3 percent from three. Sorry to tell you this Raptors fans, but this is the real Rudy Gay — a lot of inefficient points. Moments of brilliance and he can defend, but consistency is not a strong suit.

The Raptors have him locked up for next season at $17.9 million. Gay has a player option (at $19.3 million) for the season after that. But the Raptors don’t want to risk losing him then.

The struggling Raptors appear to believe in Gay. General manager Bryan Colangelo already views him as the face of the franchise, and a source said he will likely offer a contract extension in the offseason. Toronto is in need of star power since the departure of Chris Bosh and the demise of Andrea Bargnani, the former No. 1 draft pick. Attempts will be made to move Bargnani this summer for a proven scoring post player, sources said.

“I needed a change,” Gay said of the trade. “I needed a new situation. A new task. I needed a new task with something I could grasp, something I could take over. I need to be challenged. I was challenged in Memphis, but it was tug of war at times. Here I’m being challenged and they’re seeing what I’m made of.”

Yes, they are seeing what Rudy Gay is made of, and that should give GM Colangelo pause here. There is a sense in Toronto they have to overpay to get talent to come there. Maybe to a degree it’s true. But if you’re going to pay that much you need to get value for that money.

Does Gay provide that? Really?

Also, good luck trading Bargnani this summer. There is no market for that guy, let alone for a “proven scoring post player.”